


Witness

by sethera



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Body Horror, Cryptid Hunting, Established Friendship, Fear, Fear of Death, Fluff, M/M, Mild Gore, Near Death Experiences, Rated For Violence, Transformation, monster hunting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:27:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sethera/pseuds/sethera
Summary: The last time Dib and Zim went cryptid hunting, something strange happened to Dib. Of course he never told Zim about it, just subtly asked him if he wanted to accompany him back to have another search. What happens next will surprise you!
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 108





	Witness

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Trees Have Seen You Savage](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21688990) by [BamSara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BamSara/pseuds/BamSara). 



Reckless.

That’s how Zim would describe his human, a reckless, careless mess. Passionate for sure, once he has his mind set to something he wants, he’ll commit to it, so much so that it’s become a health risk on a few occasions. This being one of them.

They just went out to explore, Dib had said he’d been worried about something from their previous outing together, and wanted to go back so he could check it out. Their last hunt was for some sort of creature that evokes disaster, or… warns people of disaster? Zim couldn’t quite remember which way round it was- he cared very little for each beast that Dib was ever so enraptured by. He merely indulged him as an act of humility; something that the wretched human had insisted he get better at. It was hard, but he had grown to hate it less. Not that he’d admit it, of course.  
Either way, tonight’s expedition back to the same desolate woodland seemed meaningless enough that Zim agreed to tag along again. But- of course, Dib being Dib, had failed to tell Zim something. Zim wasn’t sure what that thing was, but he knew something was up once he saw Dib suddenly hunch over from in front of him and start screaming, it took the alien very off-guard. He shouted back asking what was wrong, and kept doing so once he got no response, he assumed he was still yelling, but couldn’t hear his own voice over the sound of Dibs guttural, bloody screams, and the sound of bones crunching filling his head.

It was dark out, the skies we’re cloudy, and they were far from the roads. The lack of any light made Dibs silhouette seem like a writhing mass of pain and noise. Zim had no idea what to do, his brain was fried, he had frozen solid with Dibs first scream, but finally flinched away once a strange elongated mass emerged out of Dibs back, along with the sound of tearing from his clothes, and skin. Zim felt a few flicks of warm liquid flick onto his face, he knew what it was. But still he said nothing.

Dibs screams and wails were one’s that he’d never heard before, and somehow, the more he shouted and thrashed, the less like Dib they sounded… they began to sound, animalistic? Some sort of noise Zim couldn’t place a creature too. Another mass flew up, more flicks of blood. Zim still hadn’t moved from where he stood, and it wasn’t until Dib started to attempt standing that he lifted a foot off the ground, legs stiff. He watched as Dib attempted to stand, fall, and try again. His screams and wails now replaced with gurgled huffs and grunts. Zim, now able to hear himself think again, dug down inside his own throat to try and find a voice, something to say, anything, if just to make sure he hadn’t already died and was just seeing things his brain was merely making up.

What Zim had wanted to say was something along the lines of “DIB! STUPID HUMAN! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR LEAVING ZIM IN THE DARK!! EXPLAIN TO ZIM WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW!” Something like that, the usual overconfident alien he was. But all that came out was: “D-di..b.. whu-” and even that was cut short, as Dib whipped his head around and simultaneously lunged forward, falling right on top of the Irken, grabbing his shoulders for stability. Zim now got a good look at his face.

And he wish he hadn’t.

Dibs face, now just a few inches away from his own, was comparable to a bird carcass. It was all but _leaking_ blood from just about everywhere, short strands of strange hair like follicles grew around the edge of his face, crowning his features in a dark circle that looked like millions of spider legs. His mouth was agape, showing off strangely large, sharp teeth- teeth that Zim swears he didn’t have before. His eyes were so bloodshot that they might as well be entirely red, in fact, they just might be… His hair had changed noticeably too, his unyielding cowlick stayed put of course, but now it was accompanied by two long strands of strange textured… hair? Zim found them familiar, antennae like, almost.

Zim leaned back to accompany the new weight lumped onto him- after the hasty glance over his assailants distraught face, he felt his eyes being looked at. He squinted and sure enough, Dib had two thin black pupils in amongst a sea of red- as if Zims natural irises had fused with his disguise contacts. They stood there, Dib heaving right in the others face, blood trickling down his pink tunic and onto the grass below. He felt the body on top of him _pulse_ with each deep, desperate breath.

“Thiiiim...” he croaked out, a lisp forming under the new set of teeth. Hearing his name be uttered in that tone sent an ice cold shudder through him. It made his blood cold. His brain was a warzone of conflicting actions, half telling him to attack, fight, KILL IT, THIS ISN’T DIB, GET IT AWAY!! And the other half telling him to help his friend, he’s in distress, something’s not right and he needs you.  
Once he felt Dibs hands cupping his face, however, his fight-or-flight kicked in and he catapulted himself backwards on his metal Pak legs. Turned. And ran.

He sprinted through the trees and finally let his voice go, panicked breaths and shouts and incomprehensible noises finally left from deep inside his twisted gut. His legs flung wildly, missing a few trees they tried to embed into, causing him to trip multiple times. He ran and ran until he felt the world growing fuzzy, his head was ringing and his eyes hurt from staying so wide open. Moments later, he felt the ground come up to meet him.

Much like Dib. Only he was face down, in the grass, crying. Once Zim had pulled away from him and ran off into the night, Dib collapsed to the floor and was winded, he tried to call out for Zim, tried to pull himself up, tried to crawl, tried to do anything. But he was in so much pain that he just let himself lay down, and sobbed. He sobbed loud- or as loud as his sandpapered throat would allow him. The light of Zims Pak had left him to be shrouded in blackness, relying on his eyes to adjust themselves to the best of his ability. His glasses had fallen off his face the first time he hunched over, so even if his eyes managed to adjust to the dark, it’s not like he could see all that well anyway.

Dib… didn’t want to die. Not here, not in such an unknown fashion. He knew something was wrong with him after their last monster hunt; he split off from Zim very briefly to chase a sound in the wind, only to be attacked and dragged away by something. He doesn’t remember anything after that, though. Only waking up to Zim shouting down at him, telling him he must’ve tripped and knocked himself out- and that ‘running through the woods in the dark is already not sensible for _any_ human- but _especially_ not for a near sighted nitwit like yourself!’ Ever since that night he began to have weird nightmares, and he swore he kept feeling like he was being watched. Something staring at him through his window at school, whenever he felt aches when there shouldn’t be any, whenever he was going over the notes of that night, or, especially unsettling, whenever he stripped down to examine his body for any strange scars or bruises…

Dib could feel himself bleeding. It was a strange warm to contrast the cold air hitting every part of now-exposed skin. His back felt broken in such a way he couldn’t describe, whatever appendages had grown from him were attached to his upper spine. It was a bizarre feeling, like having phantom pains, but for limbs that should never exist.  
Dib had stopped wailing now, he could feel his energy depleting, he couldn’t keep crying even if he wanted to. Dib wondered, if he was really going to die. Whatever was happening to him, must be what dying feels like.  
He stayed on the floor, hoping that Zim, or that _anyone_ would come out and find him. When, as if his thoughts had been heard by some force of mercy, he felt a presence stand near him. It was looming, tall, and quiet, but it didn’t feel malicious. Whatever it was.

Dib couldn’t see it, but he could hear it walk slowly around him. It walked on two legs so he ruled out the possibility of being devoured half alive by a bear or wolf, and considered maybe being devoured half alive by a cannibal instead. He stayed collapsed on the floor, but, the longer he did, with this new added presence, the more he felt like he could move again. Everything still hurt, but he felt like he might be able to move. Now the only thing stopping him was the fear that this thing with him was just waiting for him to regain strength before pouncing. Though, somehow, Dib felt that wasn’t the case. He pushed up against the ground and turned his head to face what was with him in the deep of the woods.

A large, near pitch-black silhouette, with two red shining eyes, stood above him. Dib, in his state, knew he should feel terror, fear for his life, feel anything that would fuel adrenaline into him so he could flee.  
But somehow, this creature didn’t feel evil. At least not to Dib, not right now.

Right away Dib knew what it was, it was the exact monster that he and Zim set out to search for not too long ago. And this sent a flurry of wonder through his exhausted body. He tried lifting himself again, only to fall back to where he started. He had no idea if the mothman could speak English, or speak at all, but given his circumstances and mushy brain, it’s all he could think to do.

“You… help me…pleath…” His new lisp still making it hard to talk properly, he pleaded with the beast for assistance. It continued to stare at him, eyes deep red but… somehow, not unfeeling. Those very eyes got closer and closer to Dib as the shadow crouched down to him, and flared out its wings over the boy. They fluttered over him, as did a strange cool sensation, a feeling which made it suddenly a _lot_ easier to use his limbs again. Cautiously, he stood. The mothman followed suit.

They stood facing each other in the dark, Dib, giving the monster a look from the ground up, and conjuring a theory inside his head. He looked at the two strange feelers on top of the shadows head, and to test his theory, reached his arm up over his own and pet his hair. He felt his hair, greasy, and full of leaves, twigs and dried blood; but that was to be expected. What he wasn’t expecting were two soft appendages with the texture similar to a feather duster, GROWING out of his head. The feeling of touching them not only received a response from his hand, but also from the new appendages: a strange electric feeling shivered over his scalp and into his spine, it wasn’t painful, just… strange.

With that new revelation, Dib was worried that he knew exactly what had happened to him. But still, he had to ask.

“Did you… do thithhss… to me?” He all but whispered to the mothman.

“Are you making me… you? Wath- … _was_ it you who attacked me last time I was here…?” His voice was weak, the sadness lining every word made it crack as he spoke. The mothman showed no reaction to his questions, but none were needed. Dib was turning into the same being as it. A giant moth? It felt terrible. He started crying again, but didn’t wail as he had before. Merely let the tears roll down his cheeks as his breath hitched. He contemplated what his life was at this moment, he had been looking for this very creature, but now that it was standing in front of him he had no idea what to do. He just wanted to take some pictures of it from a safe distance and show them off to his sister and his dad and to anyone who’d see them and especially to Zim who-

Zim.

Dib took a breath and lifted his head up to the mothman, who was attentive at the motion.

“Can you… take me to Zim? Do you know where he went?”

Silence.

…

“…Please… Please I just need to know where he… please…” His voice trailed off, overcome with sorrow. Before both of his wrists were grabbed harshly by a pair of unnatural talons, and he was dragged through the wood.

The breeze flew through his body, adrenaline finally kicking in fast to make sure his legs ran at a pace fast enough that his arms weren’t pulled out of their sockets. A strange feeling in the two new additions that had grown out his back overtook his brain and he… started to… flap them? The feeling of flapping your arms up and down as if mimicking a bird, but behind you and not with your actual arms. Doing this a few times, he felt his legs lifting off the ground but only very briefly, his technique was non-existent and moving his wings was still awfully uncomfortable as they rubbed on raw open scars in his skin.

As suddenly as the take-off began, it stopped, and Dib landed his feet to the ground, only stumbling a little with the help of his hands still being in the grip of the professional. They let go and Dib rubbed his sore wrists, hoping those wouldn’t be the marks his family asks about when he gets home… _if_ he gets home.  
He looked up to the mothman, who was standing a few feet ahead, looking behind a large tree trunk. Dib hobbled over, eyes locked on the beast the whole time, not in a distrusting way, just out of bewilderment. Until he stood next to it, and followed its gaze down to the tree.

Zim.

The alien sat on the ground, propped up against the trunk, completely passed out. Still freckled with spots of Dibs blood. Zim looked peaceful, in some convoluted way. Dib almost didn’t want to wake him, especially not to be confronted by _his_ unsightly appearance. Looking over Zims sleeping face relieved Dib, for a moment, then filled him with sadness and betrayal. Zim ran away from him when he was turning, it was incredibly painful, but watching his friend run away from him with no turning back made the pain worsen to indescribable.

Though, looking down at his hands, now turned to bloody, feathered claws. He’s not sure what he would’ve done if the situation was flipped either. Zim slept whilst Dib stared at him. His brain full of weird, conflicting thoughts about everything, he just wanted it to stop, he wished he had told him about the attack before, maybe he could’ve made some weird alien potion to null the effects or remove the curse altogether. He wondered what Zims reaction would be to seeing him still alive, he smiled weakly as he could hear Zims screechy voice shout: ‘THANK IRK YOU SURVIVED, NOW I CAN KILL YOU MYSELF!’ in his head. His tiny laugh turned into another sob as he started shaking his head. Thinking about what Zim would even say to his family if he _had_ died back there. The thoughts were too awful, he swivelled around to the still looming presence next to him and looked it in the eyes.

“Please. I don’t want this, I don’t know why you turned me into this… why you… why me? I know if you told me this would happen I would’ve been really excited! But… Zim would’ve told me no and I would’ve still…”

The mothman took a step closer to the human.

“It just hurts so much. And I’d miss people. I have… more to…”

A pair of human like arms slowly emerged from the void of black that made up the creatures torso. Silencing Dib. The arms slowly made their way up to the feelers growing from his head, and caressed them gently. The feeling was _inappropriately_ pleasing. Like getting a head massage that made your entire body shiver and tingle with pleasure. It felt so different when someone else touched them, his eyes fluttered shut, then open, involuntarily. It was embarrassing but, due to all the pain he’d been in, he welcomed any nice feeling to his body.

Of course, Dib is only allowed to have nice things for a very short time, as a sudden swift movement of the shadowy arms flinging upward, with both feelers gripped hard in hand, and a short ‘snap’ sound had expelled any good feeling in Dibs head back to a searing, stinging, _burning_ , pain over his skull, neck and shoulders. He screamed. Flinging his hands up to his head and clutching, falling to the ground again and crushing his eyes shut to tense up in an attempt to contain the white hot agony pulsing through his head.

The scream, of course, woke the sleeping Irken beside him. Zim SHOT awake and his Pak legs shot out in front of him in self-defence, he turned and saw Dib clutching his head, and without a second thought, crouched down in front of him and grabbed the humans face in his claws, pulling it up to get a look.  
He was still a mess, the blood was dried to Dibs skin, but the tears were fresh and they still kept coming. Dib, upon seeing Zim, tried to speak.

“Y- YOU... YOU RAN… RAN AWAY…”

Guilt hit Zim like a bus, he _did_ run away from him didn’t he? What was wrong with him? He shouldn’t be afraid of his stupid human, he is ZIM! And-

“WHY!?” Dib continued to shout, audibly betrayed. “I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL… YOU WERE DOING SO WELL WHY…”

Dib was still writhing even in Zims grasp, five fingered hands clasped over the three fingered ones cupping his face. The strange ache pulsing through Dibs body was shooting all through his skin, the black, feather-fur texture that had grown around his body was being forcefully pushed out, the sped up growth causing a horrid twinge of pain whilst the strands falling out gave a strange relief. It was all too much, he just wanted an answer.

Zims face was twisted in worry and confusion, he had no idea what to say, he just stayed crouched on the cold night floor, holding Dibs pained face. Staring into his eyes, he noticed the red draining away _into his tears_. His eye-whites were coming back and his brown pupils started to be visible again. Unable to take this sight anymore, but not wanting to flee again. Never again. He pulled the crying mess of a human into a tight hug.

Dibs fingers clawed into Zims shoulder blades, his mouth, open, drooled onto his neck and down his shirt, Zim decided he’ll get mad about that _later_. He hugged Dib tightly and stared at the wings Dib had sprouted earlier as they twitched and cracked, feathers falling out and skin rotting rapidly. The more they died, the louder Dibs cries became. Zim squeezed him tighter as Dib began to bite his shoulder. Zim felt the shape of Dibs teeth go from pointed and sharp back to their normal flat shape- still unpleasant to be bitten by.

All at once, Zim watched as the skin on Dibs back that grew into the wings suddenly tore apart. The wings fell to the ground in a shapeless heap, as if they were just a pile of feathers and twigs. The skin tearing made Dib kick his feet into the ground hard, and growl in pain into Zims shoulder, still residing in his mouth.

As fast as this all started, it seemed to come to a close.

Dib breathed heavily, heaving and catching his breath. Going limp in Zims arms, mouth still in place around his skin, but no pressure in his jaw anymore. Thank Irk.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Zim finally asked.

Zim wasn’t sure what Dib was going to say in reply, or if he’d reply at all. But he _certainly_ wasn’t expecting him to _laugh_. Dib laughed into his save haven in the crook of Zims neck, then wiped his wet, snotty face into the hood of his jumper. Zim decided he had no reason to be nice anymore now that he was being laughed at, and pulled the human away from messing him up any longer. Staring at him.

“Hahaha… I’ll explain later haha… I just wanna go home I think. I’m so tired…”

“Yes. You are a mess, Zim will lug your sorry body back to the voot, just wait here for a second.”

Dib raised an eyebrow to Zim to indicate his confusion, but was ignored as he slumped down to a sitting position on the ground. Zim turned and walked over to one of the many trees surrounding the two. Then proceeded to clamber up the trunk on his Pak legs, all the way to the top. Dib had to squint in the dark as he saw Zim poke his head out of the pine needles at the very top, but didn’t have to strain his ears much to hear:

“HEY BEAST!! ZIM IS SPARING YOU TONIGHT! BUT IF YOU LAY ANOTHER DISGUSTING APPENDAGE ON MY HUMAN, ZIM WILL NOT BE MERCIFUL!! I **WILL** COME BACK AND I **WILL** END YOUR MISERABLE LIFE!! DO YOU HEAR ME!? I AM **ZIM** AND DON’T YOU FOR- **GET IT!!!** ”

Dib stared and smiled up at the humour of seeing Zim scream at nothing from the top of a tree on his behalf. His eyes followed Zim back through the branches until he stood in front of him again, and continued to speak as if THAT didn’t just happen.

“You may sleep in the voot on the way home but do not even THINK of snoring or drooling on Zim or I will slap you awake again!” He said whilst pointing an accusing finger at the giddy boy, still sitting in the grass at him. Again, he just laughed in reply, this time sounding more strained, he was only barely conscious, anyone could tell.  
Before he could object, Zim bent down and lifted Dib into his arms with moderate ease.

“Uh, I’m sure I can wa-”

“No you can’t. We can’t risk you being any more wounded than you already are.”

With no energy to retort, he let himself be carried through the woods from whence they came. The arms that cradled him were just uncomfortable enough to prevent him from passing out right there. Still, he leant his head against the aliens shoulder and looked at the woods passing behind them.

“When we get back to my base. You are telling Zim what happened on our previous expedition. NO exceptions. Zim is not letting something as trivial as this happen to you again.”

“Trivial huh? Is that why you hugged me before?”

“I could drop you, you know.”

“Right, right okay hahah.”

As his eyes drifted from the side of Zims head back to facing the trees, he saw the mothman again. Standing behind them a few feet away. Dib awkwardly lifted a hand up across Zims neck and waved it. He smiled lightly as he saw the pair of red eyes tilt to the side, like a dog tilting its head in confusion.

The action prompted Zim to stop walking and turn around, averting Dibs gaze to the way they were headed. Zim initially made no comment as he span back and continued walking. Dib felt his stomach tense up as he sensed a lecture coming…

“Who were you waving at?” Came the inevitable question.

“No one.”

Dibs response must’ve sparked something in Zim, as he extended out a Pak leg to grab his hair and turn his head to meet the alien’s eyes. He didn’t look angry, just very _stern._ Which, frankly, was more unnerving.

“Our deal was to not attack each other, yes? To help each other and try to see if a human ‘friendship’ could work between us. Yes?”

When Dib didn’t reply right away, he felt the metal prongs tug at his hair harder, pulling a stuttered “Y-Yeah?” out of him.

“Well as much as I HATE it. I cannot even BEGIN to TRY with you if you don’t TELL ZIM what’s going ON. From now on you do not keep secrets from Zim.”

Dib pondered for a second, before slyly asking:

“What will you do in return?”

“I won’t drop-kick you in the voot.”

“SHEESH oh-KAY!” Dib flailed his arms at the leg still clutching his hair, it let go and retreated to its confinement within the Pak.

Zim smiled down at him, as he continued to walk. They walked in comfortable silence for a few more second before Dib had to comment:

“It’s cute that you’re concerned.”

Once again they stopped, Dib tightly closed his lips together to try prevent the wide smile that was begging to stretch across his face. Zim looked down at him with furrowed brows, or- well, what would be eyebrows.  
Zim opened his palms that were grabbing a hold of Dib, as a warning-

“WAI- ZIM DON’T-!!!” Dib frantically reached up and wrapped his arms around the aliens neck to hold himself in place JUST as the arms cradling him dropped away, followed by maniacal laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> i know i should be working on my slow burn fic i KNOW and i promise i AM doing that i just needed to preoccupy myself with something else for a bit. also someone in the discord wanted a mothman dib thing and i wanted to give it a shot :]  
> this was very inspired by bamsaras stuff, particularly "the trees have seen you savage"!! its good i linked it somewhere i think u should go read that  
> like comment and subslime!!!!!!


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